PPfijitf n'f  ■;' '  .i 


^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^ 

Presented    b^^ro^  7S~S .  VM!<:AA\<2^Va  ,"X).T 

Seclion  PS     '  ' 


THE  PRESBYTERIAN  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY.  495 

THE  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  THIRD  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY. 

The  very  notable  One  Hundred  and  Second  General  Assembly  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  has  been  followed  by  an  equally  notable 
One   Hundred  and  Third   General   Assembly-.     At  the  outset,   Dr. 
William  Henry  Green  was  chosen  Moderator  l»y  a  unanimous  rising 
vote.     And  perhaps  nothing  was  more  notable  about  this  Assembly 
than  that  it  thus  obtained  the  honor  which  more  than  one  of  its  pre- 
decessors has  craved,  of  honoring  with  the  gift  of  its  highest  oftice  a 
scholar  whose  single-hearted  devotion  to  truth  is  evidenced  not  more 
by  the  greatness  of  his  attainments  than  by  his  rare  modesty.     The 
enthusiastic  choice  of  the  greatest  Hebraist  and  Old  Testament  critic 
of  the  Church  to  the  Moderator's  chair,  was  an  indication  of  the  deep 
and  unfeigned  love  for  sacred  learning  which  pervades  the  Church  and 
which  ruled  in   this    Assembly ;  while    the    spontaneous   unanimity 
with  which  the  olHce  was  tendered  to  one  whose  reluctance  was  over- 
come only  by  the  heartiness  of  the  proffer,  was  a  striking  indication 
of  the  value  which  the   Church  places  upon  the  modesty  of  true 
scholarship.     Another  thing  which  rendered  this  Assembly  notable 
was  that  the  great  Disposer  of  events  chose  it  as  the  stage  from  which 
to  call  one  of  His  saints  to  heaven.     There  was  no  one  in  the  Church 
whom  it  more  delighted  to  honor  than  the  Hon.  Samuel  M.  Breckin- 
ridge, as  there  was  no  one  who  repaid  the  honor  conferred  upon  him 
with  more  loj'al  service.     And  having  faithfully  served  her  through 
more  than  three-score  years,  it  was  not  unfitting  that  the  summons  to 
an  even  higher  service  should  have  come  to  him,  not  before,  not  in 
the  midst  of,  but  only  after  he  had  completed  for  her  a  service  of  un- 
usual delicacj'^  with  unusual  tact,  kindness  and  faithfulness.     As  he 
died  with  the  words  on  his  lips,  "  I  feel  that  I  have  discharged  my 
duty  faithfully,  and  I  ask  you  to  excuse  me  from  further  service  " — 
the  scene,  the  words,  the  example  could  not  fail  to  bear  their  fruit. 
Shortly  before,  the  almost  equally  sudden  death  of  another  servant 
of  Christ  whom  Presbyterians  have  loved  and  honored — Dr.  Henry 
J.  Van  Dyke,  of  Brooklyn — was  announced  to  the  house.      In   the 
solemnity  begot  by  such  circumstances,  with  the  veil  rent  between 
earth  and  heaven,  and  as  "  seeing  the  invisil)le,"  the  court  took  up  the 
great  problems  that  came  before  it. 

Among  these  problems,  issued  in  this  spirit,  the  one  which  occu|)ied 
the  attention  and  tried  the  heart  of  the  Assembly  longest  and  most 
intensely,  was  the  disposition  to  be  made  of  the  appointment  of  Prof. 
Charles  A.  Briggs,  D.D.,  to  the  recently  estal)lished  chair  of  liilijical 
Theology  in  Union  Seminary.  This  disposition  was  not  made  in  a 
spirit  of  irritation  towanls  Dr.  Briggs;  but  in  that  same  spirit  of 
patient  forbearance  with  which  the  Church  has  for  so  long  borne  with 
what  it  deems  his  unfortunate  manner.  Still  less  was  it  made  in  a 
spirit  of  indifference  to  the  interests  of  Union  Seminary;  but  rather 
with  the  deepest   concern   and  the   most   careful   consideration    for 


496  TEE  PRESBYTERIAN  AND  REFORMED  REVIEW. 

the  interests  of  that  great  school  whose  past  is  a  portion  of  the  cher- 
ished heritage  of  the  whole  Church,  in  whose  present  greatness  she 
rejoices,  and  for  whose  future,  as  part  of  her  own  life,  she  wishes 
nothing  but  growth  and  prosperity  and  good.  Still  less  was  it  made 
in  a  spirit  of  opposition  to  the  science  of  Biblical  Criticism ;  but 
rather  in  the  name  of  sound  Biblical  learning,  which  the  Assembly 
was  at  that  moment  honoring  in  the  person  of  its  greatest  American 
representative  by  placing  him  in  the  Moderator's  chair.  It  was  made 
calmly  and  dispassionatel}',  and  under  the  pressure  only  of  a  high 
and  instructed  sense  of  duty.  The  Committee  to  whom  was  entrusted 
the  presentation  of  the  matter  to  the  Assembly  was  conspicuous  no 
less  for  its  judicial  spirit  and  its  fine  restraint  than  for  its  abilit}'.  Its 
report  to  the  Assembly  was  as  remarkable  for  its  generous  fairness  as 
for  its  faithfulness.  The  ear  of  the  Assembly  was  given  with  equal 
readiness  to  the  presentation  of  every  phase  of  opinion,  and  its 
patience  knew  no  bounds,  so  that  every  one  was  heard  at  length  who 
had  a  suggestion  to  make  or  a  plea  to  offer.  The  resolutions  which 
were  adopted  after  this  extended  debate  are  a  model  of  extreme  kind- 
ness and  delicacy  in  the  performance  of  a  diflScult  duty. 

1.  Resolved,  That,  in  the  exercise  of  its  right  to  veto  the  appointment  of  pro- 
fessors in  the  Union  Theological  Seminary,  the  General  Assembly  hereby  dis- 
approves of  the  appointment  of  the  Rev.  Charles  A.  Briggs,  D.D.,  to  the  Edward 
Robinson  Professorship  of  Biblical  Theology  in  that  seminary,  by  transfer  from 
another  chair  in  the  same  seminary. 

3.  Resolved,  That  a  Committee,  consisting  of  eight  ministers  and  seven  ruling 
elders,  be  appointed  by  this  Assembly  to  confer  with  the  Directors  of  the  Union 
Theological  Seminary  in  regard  to  the  relations  of  the  said  seminary  to  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  and  to  report  to  the  next  General  Assembly. 

By  their  adoption  by  the  decisive  vote  of  448  to  60,  the  formal  disap- 
proval of  the  whole  Church,  assembled  in  its  lawful  representatives, 
was  pronounced  upon  Dr.  Briggs's  appointment. 

Among  the  other  matters  of  importance  disposed  of,  a  very  high 
place  must  be  accorded  to  the  report  of  the  adoption  by  the  Presb}'- 
teries,  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote  (190  Presbyteries),  of  the  new 
chapter  prepared  by  the  last  Assembly  for  the  Form  of  Government, 
defining  methods  for  effecting  amendments  in  the  several  Standards 
of  the  Church.  This  chapter  now  becomes  part  of  the  Constitution 
and  practically  settles  many  long-standing  disputes  and  gives  certitude 
to  future  procedure.     This  is  a  great  gain. 

The  most  important  matter  sent  down  to  the  Presbyteries  by  this 
Assembly  was  the  transmisson  to  them,  for  their  criticism  and  sugges- 
tions, of  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  the  Revision  of  the  Confes- 
sion of  Faith,  appointed  by  the  last  Assembly.  The  Assembly  only 
carried  out  the  desire  of  the  Committee  in  accepting  their  report  as 
a  report  of  progress  and  ordering  it  printed  and  sent  down  to  the 
Presbyteries  for  their  "  consideration,  criticism  and  amendment."  It 
is  unfortunate  that  so  short  a  time  is  allowed  for  this  consideration ; 


TUE  PRE  SB  YTERIAN  GENERAL  A  SSEMBL  Y.  497 

the  intervening  sunimcr  vacation  and  the  heavy  hibor  of  the  opening 
autumn  will  leave  scant  time  and  opportunity  for  the  careful  study 
which  so  important  a  document  demands  for  its  amendment,  before 
the  1st  of  December,  when  the  answers  of  the  Presbyteries  must  be 
forwarded  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Kevision  Committee.  That  the 
shortness  of  time  allowed  may  not  measurably  defeat  the  end  sought 
in  submitting  the  report  to  the  examination  of  the  l*resbyteries,  the 
greatest  diligence  in  the  business  will  be  requisite.  That  there  is 
room  for  criticism  of  the  report  follows  from  the  very  nature  of  the 
case;  and  is  given  more  importance  by  the  fact  that  the  Committee 
was  not  itself  unanimous  in  all  its  recommendations.  The  Chairman 
in  his  report  dutifull}'  informs  the  Church,  "  that  as  to  some  of  the 
most  important  changes,  such  as  those  in  the  third  and  tenth  chapters, 
there  were  decided  differences  of  judgment  in  the  Committee,  some 
members  being  opposed  to  the  changes  therein  recommended  and 
voting  against  them."  In  the  presence  of  this  fact,  faithful  criticisms 
by  the  Presbj-teries  become  not  only  a  privilege  but  a  duty ;  and  we 
trust  the  Committee  will  be  led  by  them  to  give  us  next  year  an  even 
more  excellent  piece  of  work  than  it  has  presented  to  us  now. 
For  the  report  that  is  now  presented,  is  an  excellent  piece  of  work. 
The  Committee  has  obviously  expended  much  time  and  earnest  study 
upon  the  grave  task  entrusted  to  it ;  and  the  results  of  its  labor 
will  increase  the  confidence  which  the  Church  reposes  in  its  ability, 
skill  and  soundness.  Not  that  all  these  results  are  acceptable.  In  the 
course  of  his  most  interesting  speech  on  the  report,  Dr.  Patton  classi- 
fied the  varying  attitudes  which  he  was  constrained  to  take  towards 
its  several  portions.     He  said  : 

With  regard  to  some  of  the  changes  proposed  by  the  Committee  I  say,  speak- 
ing simply  for  myself,  that  I  assent  to  tliem  con  amore,  and  believe,  seeing 
revision  is  demanded  Ity  the  Church,  that  the  changes  we  propose  are  the 
changes  that  ought  to  be  made.  I  say  that  with  respect  to  some.  And  then 
with  respect  to  some  other  changes  I  say  that  I  do  not  regard  them  as  called  for, 
as  needed  by  the  theological  exigency  of  our  day  ;  but  at  the  same  time,  they 
are  not  so  objectionable  as  to  call  forth,  from  me  at  least,  any  comment,  or  criti- 
cism, or  objection,  and  although  they  are  not  what  I  would  have  proposed,  they 
are  not  what  I  object  to.  And  then  with  respect  to  another  class  of  changes, 
there  are  those  which  ought  to  be  made,  but  which  ought  not  to  be  made  in  the 

way  that  this  Committee  proposes  to  make  them And  then  I  believe  with 

regard  to  still  another  class  of  changes,  that  the  proposed  changes  are  not  needed, 

and  that  change  of  any  kind  is  unnecessary "We  believe  a  great  deal  will 

stand,  and  I,  for  one,  hope  that  some  of  it  will  not  stand. 

This  passage  expresses  fairly  our  own  position  with  regard  to  the 
proposed  amendments  to  the  Confession.  Speaking  simply  for  our- 
selves, we  find  some  things  among  them  which  we  think  improve- 
ments, others  concerning  which  we  are  indifferent,  others  to  which  we 
mildly  and  still  others  to  which  we  strongly  object. 

For  one   thing   we  hoi)e,  for  example,  that  the  proposed   rutlical 
revision  of  the  third  chapter  will  not  stand.     We  gladly  recognize 
32 


498  2  HE  PRE  SB  TTERIAN  AND  REFORMED  RE  VIE  W. 

that  the  proposed  revision  leaves  that  chapter  Calvinistic.  But  it 
proceeds  on  the  principle  of  lowering  and  lessening  the  expression  of 
one  of  the  essentially  involved  doctrines  of  Calvinism  until  it  is  all 
but  expunged.  Now  we  are  Calvinists  con  amove.  We  believe  every 
doctrine  that  enters  as  a  constituent  part  into  the  Calvinistic  sj-stem, 
to  be  the  truth  of  God.  We  are  not  ashamed  of  sa\j  one  of  them. 
And  we  very  strenuousl}^  object  to  reducing  the  expression  of  one  of 
them  to  its  lowest  terms,  and  then  hiding  it  away  in  a  corner,  as  if  we 
blushed  to  own  what  the  God  who  has  so  loved  us  as  to  give  His  Son 
for  us,  has  revealed  to  us  as  to  His  dealing  with  the  children  of  men. 
If  the  very  stringent  dealing  of  the  proposed  revision  Avith  the  Con- 
fessional statement  of  the  doctrine  of  sovereign  pretention,  does  not 
in  ^ny  way  encroach  upon  "  the  integrity'  of  the  Reformed  or  Calvin- 
istic system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Confession  of  Faith,"  it  cer- 
tainly advances  somewhat  in  the  direction  of  so  doing.  There  is  a 
passage  in  the  report  of  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee,  to  the 
curiously  guarded  wording  of  which  the  careful  attention  of  the  Pres- 
byteries should  be  called  in  this  connection : 

It  will  be  seen  that  Chapter  iii,  which  has  been  regarded  by  many  as  the  pivot 
around  which  revision  revolves,  has  been  altered  more  than  any  other  portion  of 
the  Confession.  It  has  not,  however,  been  completely  rewritten,  as  some  Pres- 
byteries have  asked,  but  so  recast  that  the  expressions  most  objected  to  have 
entirely  disappeared.  It  was  thought  that  further  alterations  in  the  same  direc- 
tion would,  in  the  opinion  of  some,  impair  the  integrity  of  our  Reformed  or  Cal- 
vinistic system. 

An  old  negro  on  being  accused  of  l3'ing,  replied,  "  No,  master,  that 
is  not  a  lie  ;  but  it  is  in  the  direction  of  one."  And  Dr.  Roberts  tells 
us  that  the  alterations  proposed  for  the  third  chapter  do  not  impair 
the  integrity-  of  the  Calvinistic  system,  but  that  "  it  was  thought  that 
further  alteration  in  the  same  direction  would,  in  the  opinion  of  some, 
impair  the  integrity  of  our  Reformed  or  Calvinistic  system."  We  do 
not  desire  to  iidvance  so  far  in  this  direction  that  another  little  step 
would  be  fatal.  And  we  trust  that  the  Presbyteries  will  insist  on 
continuing  to  confess  the  truth  of  God  in  this  great  matter  as  fully, 
as  explicitl}'^,  and  as  undoubtingl}"  as  heretofore  and  as  it  is  declared 
in  the  Word.  For  our  part  we  believe  that  the  third  section  should 
be  restored  (either  as  it  stands  or  with  some  such  well-guarded  addi- 
tion as  the  phrase  in  the  Larger  Catechism :  "  to  be  for  their  sins 
inflicted"),  and  that  the  useless  and  misleading  additions  to  the 
seventh  section  should  be  stricken  out. 

For  another  thing,  we  hope  that  the  proposed  reconstruction  of  the 
section  on  infant  salvation  (Chap,  x,  3)  will  not  stand.  Although  we 
all  cherish  as  a  blessed  hope,  and  some  of  us  feel  that  there  is  suffi- 
cient Scriptural  basis  to  enable  us  to  hold  as  a  personal  conviction, 
what  is  here  stated,  surely  there  is  no  such  clear  and  direct  Scripture 
for  it  as  will  justify  its  dogmatic  assertion  as  a  Confessional  doctrine. 
Nor  can  it  be  too  often  or  too  emphatically  repeated  that  no  state- 


THE  PRESBYTERIAN  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY.  499 

meiit  of  infiiut  salvation  can  be  satisfactory  which  docs  not  lay  stress 
on  the  two  chief  elements  which  require  emphasizing — that  infants 
need  salvation,  and  that  they  owe  their  salvation  to  the  electing  love 
of  God.  Once  more  we  hope  that  the  confusing  phraseology  con- 
cerning the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  introduced  into  the  proposed 
revision,  hy  which  the  distinction  between  the  operations  of  common 
and  of  eflicacious  grace  sutlers  obscuration,  will  not  stand  without 
correction  or  guarding.  The  insertion  of  what  Dr.  Roberts  calls 
"  the  '  means  '  through  which  the  Lord  offers  unto  sinners  life  and 
salvation  "  into  vii,  3  already  is  open  to  this  objection,  in  its  connection  ; 
and  thus  what  is  probably  the  most  exact  statement  of  the  Covenant 
of  Grace  ever  framed  is  sadly  marred.  And  the  language  of  the  two 
new  chapters — which,  finely  conceived  and  expressed  as  thej'^  are,  we 
cannot  think  worthy  of  a  place  in  the  noble  context  of  the  Confession — 
errs  more  than  once  in  this  direction.  We  cannot,  however,  enter 
here  into  a  detailed  criticism  of  the  document ;  enough  has  doubtless 
been  said  to  serve  our  purpose  of  indicating  to  the  Presbyteries  that 
a  grave  as  well  as  a  pressing  task  has  been  entrusted  to  them,  when 
they  are  asked  to  advise  the  Committee  with  reference  to  its  proposed 
revision  of  the  Confession  of  Faith.  May  the  spirit  of  truth  "  give 
efficacy  to  the  Word  "  during  the  coming  months,  keep  the  Church 
from  error,  and  "  enable  it  to  bear  effectual  testimony  to  the  truth." 

The  detailed  reports  of  the  work  of  the  Assembly,  published  in  the 
weekly  papers,  supersede  the  necessity  of  a  further  account  here.  We 
ought  to  mention,  however,  that  the  Overture  on  Deaconesses  was 
declared  by  the  Assembly  to  be  lost — a  decision  which  was  certainly 
wise  in  view  of  the  need  in  which  the  second  paragraph  stood  of  the 
first,  in  order  to  define  and  limit  the  position  and  functions  of  Dea- 
conesses. Nor  ought  we  to  omit  to  express  the  satisfaction  which  all 
must  feel  with  the  admiraljle  exhibit  made  b}'  the  evangelizing  agencies 
of  the  Church,  despite  the  great  debt  that  still  hangs  over  the  Home 
Board ;  and  with  the  successful  and  grandly  attended  meetings  held 
in  their  interest,  arguing  an  enthusiasm  for  the  proper  work  of  the 
Church,  which  promises  great  things. 

Benjamin  B.  Wakfikmi. 
Princeton. 


IX. 
EEYIEWS   OF 

RECENT  THEOLOGICAL  LITERATURE. 


I.— EXEGETICAL  THEOLOGY. 

Messianische  Weissagung  in  geschichtlicher  Folge.  Von  Franz 
Delitzsch.    Leipzig,  1890.    Pp.  viii  and  160. 

Messianic  Prophecies  in  Historical  Succession.  By  Franz 
Delitzsch.  Translated  by  Samuel  Ives  Curtiss,  Professor  in 
Chicago  Ttieological  Seminary.  New  York :  Charles  Scribner's  Sons ; 
Edinburgh,  T.  &  T.  Clark,  1891.    12mo,  pp.  xii,  232. 

The  venerable  author  signed  the  Preface  to  this  little  book  a  few  days 
before  his  death,  and  to  his  pupils  it  will  come  like  his  dying  message — not  an 
unfamiliar  one,  for  it  contains  the  substance  of  ^lectures  delivered  both  early 
and  late  in  his  academic  career.  In  their  preparation  for  publication  as  well 
as  the  last  revision  (as  it  proved)  for  oral  delivery  he  was  moved  especially 
by  his  interest  in  the  Jewish  race,  an  interest  long  manifest  by  his  active  part 
in  the  Institutum  Judaicum. 

The  form  corresponds  with  the  title.  The  Messianic  prophecies  are  taken 
up  in  historical  sequence.  The  Introduction  starts  with  the  "  undeniable 
and  universally  acknowledged  "  fact  that  a  divinely  anointed  One  (Messiah) 
to  go  forth  from  Israel  is  promised  in  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures.  Chris- 
tians see  these  promises  fulfilled  in  Jesus.  How  they  are  fulfilled  in  Him 
and  how  they  prepared  the  way  for  Him  is  the  subject  of  our  inquiry.  "  Our 
material  does  not  consist  simply  of  prophecies  in  the  narrower  sense,  but 
promises  and  hopes  relating  to  the  future  salvation  are  comprehended  under 
the  same  idea."  Messianic  prophecies  are  those  which  foretell  the  kingdoin 
of  God,  whether  they  name  a  personal  Messiah  or  not.  The  Introduction 
closes  with  a  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  discipline. 

The  reviewer  must  content  himself  with  a  few  brief  notes  on  salient 
points.  The  book  provokes  quotation  on  every  page.  The  most  significant 
point  about  Delitzsch's  later  work  is  in  his  union  of  theological  conservatism 
with  very  advanced  views  on  questions  of  literary  criticism.  This  union 
shows  itself  also  in  this  volume.  At  the  outset  he  emphasizes  the  indispensa- 
bility  [Unerlasslichkeit]  of  literary  and  historical  criticism.  "  The  course 
of  development  of  Christological  expectations  cannot  be  determined  without 
the  concurrence  of  literary  and  historical  criticism."    The  next  paragraph 


\ 


